The Sir Edward Youde Memorial (SEYM) Fund was established in 1987 in memory of the late Governor Sir Edward Youde. Since Sir Edward assumed governorship in Hong Kong in May 1982, he had set a clear goal to develop education for the future of Hong Kong. His passion for the continuous enhancement of the quality of Hong Kong’s work force through education had won wide acclaim from the community. Following his passing in December 1986, various sectors across the community showed overwhelming support for setting up the SEYM Fund in memory of the highly respected Governor.

District boards, local organisations, schools, major companies, association and leading philanthropists responded generously to the fund raising and over 200 000 students from 340 primary and secondary schools donated their pocket money in support of the setting up of the Fund. By March 1987, the donation had accumulated to $76 million. Upon the recommendation of the Government and the endorsement of the Legislative Council, the SEYM Fund was set up and the SEYM Fund Ordinance, Chapter 1140 of the Laws of Hong Kong, was enacted in April 1987.

As laid down in the Ordinance, the aim of the Fund is to provide for and encourage the education of, or research by, the people of Hong Kong.

Over the past 38 years, the Fund has been unswerving in its course to fulfil its objectives by encouraging the academic accomplishments of outstanding students from senior secondary to tertiary levels, recognising the personal qualities of exemplary working adults for lifelong learning and supporting the educational activities of a wide spectrum of the learning community. At present, the Fund is distributing awards under eight distinct scholarship and award schemes and operating one sponsorship scheme. This year, over 960 individuals pride themselves as the recipients of the scholarship and award schemes and a total of around 13 000 students benefit directly from the sponsorship scheme. By the 2024/25 academic year, it had cumulatively disbursed over $269 million through various award and sponsorship schemes, benefiting more than 880 000 individuals.